That's right, friends! Don't Touch is exactly eight weeks from release.And in honor of this, I'm celebrating with a Don't Touch Fear Annotated ARC Giveaway!What is an annotated ARC, you ask? Why, it's one with little notes all over it from me letting you in on inspirations, some of the changes that will appear in the finished book, background stories, and general goofiness. Here's a sneak peek, about my high school theater's tradition of eating Gummy Worms for good luck before a show . . .

I'll be giving away TWO annotated ARCs via Rafflecopter in the Don't Touch Fear Annotated ARC Giveaway. Each leg of the contest will be open for two weeks. This contest is open to US and Canada only as my shipping budget is dwindling.Don't Touch is all about fears that keep us from connecting to other people and following our passions. I'm on a personal vendetta against fear, so I'm curious to hear about your own battles against fear--the glorious triumphs and the still-working-on-its alike! How has fear touched you, and how have you sent it packing?There are several ways to win. You can like me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter, or Tweet about the challenge, but I'm hoping you will choose to share a story--you can do that with a comment here, on a reblog of the Tumblr post about the giveaway, or in your own blog post about a time you stood up to fear.Best of luck!

I battle fear on a daily basis, in so many ways. I'm afraid of snakes and spiders and other creepy-crawlies. I have all kinds of fears and anxieties about my writing. And I'm afraid of the dark.

But my absolute biggest fear, as a brain tumor survivor, is that I might not live to see my kids grow up and have children of their own.

Instead of letting that fear control me (as it so easily could), I try to spend time each day making the most of the moments I do have with my family. I have a policy that I will always put aside my work when the kids need one-on-one time with mom (even if I’m on deadline), I make sure to pose for silly pictures with them, so they’ll have fun memories to look back on just in case I’m not there one day, and I tell them several times a day that I love them. I can’t do anything about the uncertainty of life, but I can make sure I’m here for the people I love now. <3